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Plain, Simple And Perfect: Minimalist Japanese Label Arts & Science

Last autumn, taking a break during the Paris shows, I stopped in at one my favorite boutiques, the quirky Astier de Villatte on the Rue St-Honoré, and was instantly seduced by a lighter-than-air, perfectly plain, long linen dress pinned to the wall. It turned out to be from a Japanese line called Arts & Science, and, luckily enough, the founder of the company, Sonya Park, was hosting a trunk show in the shop’s ancient low-ceiling basement, which looks like it should be holding casks for the Count of Monte Cristo. So down the precipitously winding staircase I went, and there was the charming Park, surrounded by racks of deliciously austere, buttonless khaki linen trenches, softly gathered blouses, and perfect plain leather envelopes, the furthest things from retrograde bling-laden handbags. But you know how it goes during Fashion Week. You see so much, and sometimes something that you love just slips your mind. So when an Arts & Science look-book arrived at the Vogue offices, it was not just a delightful reminder of a Parisian encounter, but now there was something extra: Wouldn’t these streamlined, clean-cut, beautifully made clothes mix perfectly with the new mood of graceful utility being promulgated by Phoebe Philo at Céline, and so many other designers, for next season?

Wondering how this serendipitous confluence came about, and curious to know the company’s back story, I contact Park, who explains that the A&S clothes actually evolved in a matter as unselfconscious as the garments themselves. “A&S got started in the spring of 2003—a tiny little store in Daikanyama, Tokyo, with just the things I love,” she explains. “I used to have a few pieces of vintage clothing from my personal collection, mostly cotton and linen pieces from Europe in the store, which I thought would be a nice accent. To my surprise they were flying off the rack, and I was very distressed because I would not be able to replace them. So I decided to have a pattern-maker replicate the pattern . . . and since I was starting from scratch, I decided to make some moderate changes with the patterns. I got a seamstress to sew the garments the old-fashioned way, with flat-felled stitching.” The results were so excellent that, once again, the clothes danced out the door. But finding sufficient vintage fabric proved an unconquerable challenge. “I wanted a specific feel but could not find anything in the existing market that I could get excited about, except for some of the Khadi cotton and silk from India. So I started working with a fabric expert here in Japan who shared the love of natural and beautiful fabric. This is how the original clothing line got started.” Who would have guessed that these original A&S design hallmarks—the perfect ink-black boxy cotton overcoats; the oyster-colored cotton tunics—would encapsulate so perfectly the spirit of autumn 2010? Surely not Park herself, who is decidedly modest about her accomplishments. “Honestly, I am not that clever to come up with 20 new shapes each season!” she demurs. “And when you have really beautiful fabrics, you do not have to do much. It’s like cooking. If you have really beautiful ingredients, half of the work is done.” arts-science.com